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Strong Relationships Sway Active Adult Home Buyers

To accomplish that, make sure every contact between your sales staff and your prospects helps move the relationship gradually from one stage to the next — from stranger to friend, to customer, to loyal customer. Also, make sure you give your salespeople the tools and training to build these relationships with potential buyers.

At the same time, don’t dismiss the traditional elements of your marketing plan — advertising, publicity, special events, direct mail, Web sites, marketing collateral, even the community’s activity calendar. They still are very important and should reinforce and support the development of the relationship you are building with your prospective buyer.

Nurturing this relationship will take time and requires your sales staff to make repeated contacts that focus on the customer’s life, family and interests. This will establish a comfort level between the prospective buyer and your salesperson. In order to make an effective connection, your salesperson must know how to listen to the prospect.

Listening enables your salesperson to stay in touch with prospects without pushing sales and possibly making them uncomfortable. It also keeps the customer informed without your salesperson appearing to be promoting something.

Very successful communities maintain this comfortable and connected relationship after the buyer becomes a resident. This leads to referrals from satisfied residents, and that is possibly the most powerful sales tool of all.

Janis Ehlers is the founder and president of The Ehlers Group, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, FL-based marketing and communications company that specializes in seniors housing communities and real estate development. Ehlers also is author of the book “Marketing Seniors Housing,” available on BuilderBooks.com, and an active member of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council. She can be reached via e-mail at janis@theehlersgroup.com or visit The Ehlers Group Web site.

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